The case against a British man detained in Mississippi on charges of sexually abusing a child in England in 1998 was reopened after the victim found him on Facebook in 2009, according to newly unsealed federal court documents.

The documents unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Gulfport, Mississippi, offered new details on the nature of the charges against Barry Willoughby.

Willoughby, 45, has been living in the United States for years, and was taken into custody in Biloxi on Oct. 17 on a warrant from Bradford, England.

The documents show he's charged in England with sexually assaulting a girl he was babysitting when she was 8 and 9 years old. Willoughby denies the allegations.

The victim said Willoughby told her that their sexual encounters were a secret and that if she told anyone she might die,'' according to the documents filed in federal court in Mississippi.

The girl told her mother about the abuse in 1993, and they reported it to police soon after, according to the court documents. Willoughby's family told authorities he had left Britain by then and the case was put on hold and closed in 1996, the documents said.

The case was reopened after the victim found Willoughby on Facebook in 2009, the documents said.

Willoughby's attorney, John Weber, said Willoughby maintains his innocence and wants to return to Britain as soon as possible to fight the charges.

Willoughby signed a consent to extradition in November.

Weber said he's been trying to find out how long the extradition will take. He said the U.S. State Department referred him to the U.S. Justice Department, and officials there haven't responded to his calls about how long the process will take.

The U.S. State Department doesn't comment on extradition cases and the U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to questions Friday from The Associated Press about the status of the extradition.

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